I will start by stating in my youth it was Spider-Man and Ben Grimm in equal measure. Fist Spider-Man and no matter how many times he did the right thing, he always suffered some personal set back and STILL did the best he could.
Ben spoke to me due to his monstrous appearance was hiding a amazingly carrying person who never gave up.

On the Dc side it was Captain Marvel (and still is) , he had every reason to be angry and embittered. A Orphan who only knew hardship yet only showed kindness. Given the power of the gods he could have been selfish and take out his pain on others, but he did not.
As a adult for Marvel it is Steve Rogers, the ideal of America not the government or it's current administration is his driving force.
So I am interested who is or was your favorite comic book character.

Well, on the Marvel side... well I was never much of a Marvel fan. As a child I liked Spider-Man, but that was mostly from reruns of the 1967 cartoon, his appearances on the Electric Company, and the issues of Spidey Super-Stories Uncle Russ gave me. Even the 1978 TV series. As I grew up, and got to know the Spider-Man comic better, I became disinterested. The soap opera story elements; Aunt May's constant ill health, balanced by her invulnerability; JJJ's clownish hatred of Spider-Man. They bored me to tears.

Somewhere along the way, I became something of a Captain America fan, despite Reb Brown. He became, and remains my favourite Marvel hero, but honestly, I don't remember the last time I bought a Captain America comic. The Marvel title I collected the longest was probably The Avengers.

On the DC side, it's a lot less cut and dry. Captain Marvel, Superman, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, the other Hawkman, and DC's true Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) have all held the top spot in my heart at one time or another. But honestly, it's really, really tough. I remember liking Robin better than Batman. I remember liking Batman better than Robin. And, again, my favourite books were actually the team books: Justice League of America, All-Star Squadron, Teen Titans, etc. It was often the easiest way to deal with the mercurial nature of my favourites.

I really liked Icon, during the few years Milestone was publishing him. I've never thought of him as a DC character.

Well, on the Marvel side... well I was never much of a Marvel fan. As a child I liked Spider-Man, but that was mostly from reruns of the 1967 cartoon, his appearances on the Electric Company, and the issues of Spidey Super-Stories Uncle Russ gave me. Even the 1978 TV series. As I grew up, and got to know the Spider-Man comic better, I became disinterested. The soap opera story elements; Aunt May's constant ill health, balanced by her invulnerability; JJJ's clownish hatred of Spider-Man. They bored me to tears.

Somewhere along the way, I became something of a Captain America fan, despite Reb Brown. He became, and remains my favourite Marvel hero, but honestly, I don't remember the last time I bought a Captain America comic. The Marvel title I collected the longest was probably The Avengers.

On the DC side, it's a lot less cut and dry. Captain Marvel, Superman, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, the other Hawkman, and DC's true Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) have all held the top spot in my heart at one time or another. But honestly, it's really, really tough. I remember liking Robin better than Batman. I remember liking Batman better than Robin. And, again, my favourite books were actually the team books: Justice League of America, All-Star Squadron, Teen Titans, etc. It was often the easiest way to deal with the mercurial nature of my favourites.

I really liked Icon, during the few years Milestone was publishing him. I've never thought of him as a DC character.

Hardcase was my favourite Ultraverse hero.

I understand the Spidey issues, Aunt May was like a 100 years old and always ill. Ted Kords is a favorite as well.

As a kid, Captain America, Black Panther and The Thing, with Thanos for villains. As an adult, Spider-Man, Kitty Pryde, My Beloved Cyclone, The Thing & Cap. Spidey and Ben just have the most depth and pathos, while Kitty felt the most like a real person. Cyclone is just the most fun EVER, and Cap bleeds credibility, heroism and passion without preachiness.

for villains, I LOVE Magneto for his depth, grandeur and for the dark irony of his past making him a dark soul. And no villain gives off credibility like DOOM- everyone else mimicking his arrogance and passion come off as silly or fake. Now, he comes off as the most elite super-villain ever.

As a kid, Captain America, Black Panther and The Thing, with Thanos for villains. As an adult, Spider-Man, Kitty Pryde, My Beloved Cyclone, The Thing & Cap. Spidey and Ben just have the most depth and pathos, while Kitty felt the most like a real person. Cyclone is just the most fun EVER, and Cap bleeds credibility, heroism and passion without preachiness.

for villains, I LOVE Magneto for his depth, grandeur and for the dark irony of his past making him a dark soul. And no villain gives off credibility like DOOM- everyone else mimicking his arrogance and passion come off as silly or fake. Now, he comes off as the most elite super-villain ever.

For me Doom IS the Ultimate bad guy, he truly believes he is best to rule the world. I may not remember the total exchange between Doom And Dr.Strange but Strange asks Doom why he did not simply ask for help with getting his mother's soul from Mephisto, he responds Doom does not beg. Absolutely the mold was broken when Stan and Jack came up with Victor.

Well,THIS should bring intresting comments......Childhood Heroes:Captain America(Marvel)--to me,as a child going through Divorce,Steve was the quintessential 'Honest Man',doing a near-thankless job because SOMEBODY needed to do it...Dial H for Hero(DC Comics)--i just loved the sense of Adventure & Excitement this brought to me.While sitting in a dull,gun-metal gray Courthouse waiting to be called in,i could be Fighting the Evildoer's as a brand-new Hero,saving Midway City and Possibly the World...

Adulthood Heroes:Wonder Man(Marvel)--As i became an Adult,i moved towards the Flawed Characters,those who try to make-up for the sins of their Past's by being a better person today.Simon always struck me as a guy that needed to hit rock bottom before he could better himself....The Question-Sage Version (DC Comics)--I fell in love with Noir stories and settings when i first watched Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon in High School.I started Dressing in nice suits&ties,i spent half my Allowance money buying a Fedora from an old-fashioned clothing store down the street,i learned to flip a Coin like Two-Face did in Batman:TAS,etc. Men like Victor are few& far-between in today's Politically Correct society.Two-fisted Men who,while never perfect and just as flawed as the Villians they faced,refused to let the Innocent go unavenged....

Last edited by MacynSnow on Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:19 am, edited 2 times in total.

Well,THIS should bring intresting comments......Childhood Heroes:Captain America(Marvel)--to me,as a child going through Divorce,Steve was the quintessential 'Honest Man',doing a near-thankless job because SOMEBODY needed to do it...Dial H for Hero(DC Comics)--i just loved the sense of Adventure & Excitement this brought to me.While sitting in a dull,gun-metal gray Courthouse waiting to be called in,i could be Fighting the Evildoer's as a brand-new Hero,saving Midway City and Possibly the World...

Adulthood Heroes:Wonder Man(Marvel)--As i became an Adult,i moved towards the Flawed Characters,those who try to make-up for the sins of their Past's be being a better person today.Simon always struck me as a guy that needed to hit rock bottom befir he could better himself....The Question-Sage Version (DC Comics)--I fell in love with Noir stories and settings when i first watched Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon in High School.I started Dressing in nice suits&ties,i spent half my Allowance money buying a Fedora from an old-fashioned clothing store down the street,i learned to flip a Coin like Two-Face did in Batman:TAS,etc. Men like Victor are few& far-between in today's Politically Correct society.Two-fisted Men who,while never perfect and just as flawed as the Villians they faced,refused to let the Innocent go unavenged....

As a kid, my favorite superhero was Captain Marvel (Billy Batson), and that's been pretty much unchanged since then.

A close second as a kid was Spider-Man, and while Peter is still a favorite, I slowly learned to appreciate other Marvel heroes, most notably Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Cyclops. I was the weird kid that always preferred the Avengers to the X-Men, the latter of whom was far more popular until 2008.

Other DC heroes I liked included both Barry Allen and Wally West, and I was also a fan of Nightwing. Oddly enough, I was a much bigger Nightwing fan than a Batman fan, though learned to appreciate Bruce more over time.

As a kid, a lot of my big heroes were animated ones like Optimus Prime, He-Man, Leonardo, etc. I always gravitated towards the Leader Heroes, generally speaking, save for G.I.Joe where I was more of a fan of Quick Kick and Snake-Eyes (see martial arts fanboyism below).

When I hit my mid-teens I really got into martial arts, which started my enjoyment of characters like Karate Kid, Shang Chi and Iron Fist (and I was such a martial arts fanboy, let me tell you). I also started getting into anime around that time, mainly Dragonball Z, though my favorite characters were always Gohan and Tenshihan, not Goku, Piccolo or Vegeta. And while reading Milestone I got into Static, Icon and Rocket, as well as Hardware to a lesser extent.

And as I got older still I really got to love old school heroes like Jay Garrick and Alan Scott, the elder statesman superheroes of DC. And within the last 8 years or so I've started getting into Japanese heroes like Kamen Rider (Kuuga being my favorite).

As a kid, my favorite superhero was Captain Marvel (Billy Batson), and that's been pretty much unchanged since then.

A close second as a kid was Spider-Man, and while Peter is still a favorite, I slowly learned to appreciate other Marvel heroes, most notably Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Cyclops. I was the weird kid that always preferred the Avengers to the X-Men, the latter of whom was far more popular until 2008.

Other DC heroes I liked included both Barry Allen and Wally West, and I was also a fan of Nightwing. Oddly enough, I was a much bigger Nightwing fan than a Batman fan, though learned to appreciate Bruce more over time.

As a kid, a lot of my big heroes were animated ones like Optimus Prime, He-Man, Leonardo, etc. I always gravitated towards the Leader Heroes, generally speaking, save for G.I.Joe where I was more of a fan of Quick Kick and Snake-Eyes (see martial arts fanboyism below).

When I hit my mid-teens I really got into martial arts, which started my enjoyment of characters like Karate Kid, Shang Chi and Iron Fist (and I was such a martial arts fanboy, let me tell you). I also started getting into anime around that time, mainly Dragonball Z, though my favorite characters were always Gohan and Tenshihan, not Goku, Piccolo or Vegeta. And while reading Milestone I got into Static, Icon and Rocket, as well as Hardware to a lesser extent.

And as I got older still I really got to love old school heroes like Jay Garrick and Alan Scott, the elder statesman superheroes of DC. And within the last 8 years or so I've started getting into Japanese heroes like Kamen Rider (Kuuga being my favorite).

I love the idea of the JSA teaching the younger heroes, it seemed right that they try and impart their collective wisdom.

Yeah, the JSA worked remarkably well as the "X-Men" of the DCU, teaching younger superheroes how to use their abilities. And really, that would seem like just an easy thing to do for a new superhero, you have one issue where they go to the JSA for a month or two of training to get a kind of "superhero validation" or something and bam, you've got a decently trained hero even if they don't join the JSA. You've got Mr. Terrific and Dr. Mid-Nite to do testing on the science based heroes, you've got Dr. Fate and Alan Scott to help the mystical powered ones, Wildcat and Black Canary can work as fight instructors, etc.